One of downtown Minneapolis’s most recognizable furniture showrooms is headed to the auction block, with a starting bid that looks more like a clearance tag than a commercial price. The two-level Rosenthal building will be auctioned in July with a $250,000 minimum, after a failed sale last fall, and neighbors are wondering whether the next chapter will be local, creative, or quietly out-of-town.
The property is going to auction after it did not sell when it was listed for $1.75 million in September, according to the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal. That coverage notes that the auction is scheduled for next month with a $250,000 minimum bid, a steep drop from last year’s ask. Local real-estate watchers say that kind of gap captures both the headache of reusing historic retail space and the current mood around downtown properties.
The two-story, roughly 25,000-square-foot building at 22 N. Fifth St. sits directly on the light-rail line and has long served as Rosenthal Interiors’ downtown showroom, according to Twin Cities Business. Owner Rosie Rosenthal opened a second Minnetonka store in 2021 and later held a going-out-of-business sale as she prepared to retire, the outlet reported. With its historic façade and prominent street presence, the structure could appeal to a restaurant, boutique retailer or another small operator, especially if a buyer with a feel for the neighborhood steps in.
Part of a wider auction trend in the Twin Cities
The Rosenthal auction lines up with a broader wave of downtown commercial buildings heading to the block as owners and lenders rethink values and redevelopment plans, Finance & Commerce has reported. Recent listings and relatively low opening bids in both Minneapolis and St. Paul suggest investors are running the numbers on conversions to housing, hotels or specialty retail when traditional buyers are thin on the ground.
Owner's hope: a small, neighborhood buyer
Rosie Rosenthal has said the building “has great visibility” and that she would “love to see it go to someone small, like us,” signaling a preference for a buyer who keeps the property’s local flavor, Twin Cities Business reported. For her, the sale is about more than cashing out of a long-running business. It touches on how the block feels and who gets to plant a flag there next.
Key auction specifics, such as the exact sale date, how to register and detailed bidding rules, are included in the public listing and in the Business Journal’s reporting. Prospective bidders are directed to those notices for full procedures, according to the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal. If a buyer lands the property close to the $250,000 floor, it would represent a dramatic markdown from the $1.75 million list price and a blunt reminder of how expectations for downtown retail real estate have shifted.
Whatever the final number, the auction will add one more data point for developers and city officials tracking downtown Minneapolis’s evolution from rows of traditional storefronts to a grab bag of mixed-use projects and experience-focused ground floors. For nearby residents and longtime customers, the looming question is simple and personal: who will take over the familiar Rosenthal frontage, and what kind of life will they bring to it?
